Building on our series about the Kingdom of God, that is so keenly displayed in our two familiar parables, this week we’re looking at ways to maintain our zeal for God’s kingdom, in a challenging, sinful world. It brings us back to the central point in our faith: the cross of Christ.
Our passage: Galatians 3:24 and Matthew 13:44-46 (OT Reading: Isaiah 6:1-5). Preacher: Ian Bayne (8th March 2020).
Recap
We have been looking at the twin parables of the treasure without measure in Matthew 13:44-46 over the last few weeks: the awesome Kingdom of God has come, and we are called to be a part of it.
As Christians, we are citizens of the Kingdom and have gained the treasure. Wherever Christians meet, Jesus promises to be in our midst, to grow us, and to love us.
This is a kingdom worth looking for, liquidating for and loving with all our hearts.
We’re expanding on what it means in practice to be a lover of the kingdom: to share it, care for it and adhere to it.
To accept the Kingdom is to accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. It can be tempting to divide lordship from salvation, but that’s not what the Bible says. If we want to show love by adhering to God’s word then we will accept Jesus as Lord of our lives.
since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
1 Peter 1:16 (Peter is quoting from the OT, e.g. Leviticus 11:45b)
We are not made holy through our own ability, but through God’s.
Last week, we looked at maintaining a zeal for the kingdom: to keep going to the end. We can get ground down and absorbed into the principles and ways of the world. The Bible is full of examples of people who have fallen in this way and we looked at a few last week.
Today we face challenges both specific to our times, yet similar to those faced throughout Christian history. How do we maintain our zeal for the kingdom in relation to our surroundings? How do we sustain a sensitive conscience while living in a fallen world?
Further implications: sustaining a sensitive conscience while living in a fallen world
The world is full of temptation. It can almost feel like we are required to live different lives: one around Christians, and one that helps us blend into the world and avoid being persecuted.
Even in the earliest days of the world, such temptation has been common. In the times of Genesis, Abraham’s nephew, Lot, was living in Sodom – a city described as wicked, and having committed “grave sin” (Gen 18:19).
and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked [8] (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard);
2 Peter 2:7-8 ESV
In Peter’s letter, he describes Lot as being a believer, tormented by the state of his city.
Today we watch as we see the laws of our nation gradually move away from God’s word, and laws and policies being brought in that make it more difficult to be a practising Christian. We can see a glimpse of what Lot experienced in our own lives.
Another example of a righteous man who was aware of the state of the world around him is Isaiah. In Isaiah 6 he receives a vision of God. Isaiah is transported into the presence of God to receive his instructions. The angels are singing “holy, holy, holy” around the presence of God, and Isaiah is in awe.
And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”
Isaiah 6:5 ESV
He becomes acutely aware of two things:
- His own sinfulness
- He’s dwelling amongst a sinful people
Application: sustaining ourselves in the world
Let’s look at two ways we can sustain a heart longing after God in an unclean world.
So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.
Galatians 3:24 ESV
We can think of this verse in terms of conversion, in that the law convicts us of our sin. When unbelievers come to realise they can’t meet the standards of the law they turn to Christ.
But there’s something more here. The verse does not apply to unbelievers coming to faith, it applies to Christians every day.
If we miss this meaning, there is a danger that we can think becoming a Christan and having the free grace of God is a licence to do whatever we like, and can distract us from our ongoing battle with sin. We need forgiveness every day, and the law helps us realise this.
Such realisations help in the way we believe in God. We are interested in the whole of the scripture.
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
John 1:17 ESV
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, [17] that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
The law describes the standard of God’s holiness. If you are not a believer then see God’s law and come to Christ for forgiveness. But believers keep on sinning. We need to be alert for this, but ultimately God is working through us for our sanctification from sin. He grants us forgiveness, and he gives us the strength to resist temptation.
But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Galatians 6:14
It brings us back to there centrality of the cross.
1) as believers, we must resist the temptation to redefine what sin is
When we see God’s law we typically either:
- Admit our sin
- Redefine right and wrong to not be sinful
Our hearts can be deceitful. They would like to redefine right and wrong rather than admit we do wrong. We have been given a new heart, but we are not yet sanctified and still prone to sin, so must be wary of our desires.
The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.
Psalm 119:160
He is right and holy. We are not.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23
Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the heart.
Proverbs 21:2 ESV
Sin leads to death, and God has already defined what that is. Regardless of what we think, God will judge us according to His law.
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1 John 1:8 ESV
We are all sinners, without exception. Only Jesus has ever lived a sinless life.
2) allow God’s mercy to sensitise our consciousness every day
Through His kindness, mercy and grace
Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. [3] For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. [5] I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
Psalm 32:2-3,5 ESV
Psalm 32 is the twin Psalm to Psalm 51, which is the famous Psalm David wrote after his sin with Bathsheba. Silence brings pain. We need to acknowledge our sins before God in order to be forgiven.
As the song based on Romans 2 goes: “It’s Your kindness that leads us to the repentance, O Lord”. It is a great act of kindness to forgive us, who so often break His commands and don’t give Him the love and praise our creator deserves.
Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? [5] But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
Romans 2:4-5 ESV
The song is exalting the fact that God’s kindness is reaching out to us, which is a great motivator. Why wouldn’t we want to live a life that’s zealous for God if he’s reaching out to us?
Through His law, judgement and wrath
We must also allow the law of God to speak to us.
We read the requirements in the law and know he is a holy and just God. Every person deserves the holy wrath of God for even one sin, and we are all sinners.
The law is our schoolmaster (Galatians 3:24), we should allow God’s law to sanitise our conscience.
Some churches advocate reading the 10 commandments each week to remind us of our sinfulness.
(Note we can also be tempted to redefine right and wrong here, by saying “I haven’t murdered, or committed adultery”. But Jesus says: that even becoming angry with a brother, or looking with lustful intent breaks these commandments and makes us liable for judgement (Matthew 5:17-18, Matthew 5:21-22))
3) we need to hold both grace and wrath in balance
If someone is just concerned about God’s grace and not with his wrath then we water down God’s love to a weak love without discipline. But His love is perfect and it includes righteous wrath.
We live in troubling times. Christianity is being diluted or persecuted. In these days, the law of God is still valuable to believers to show us our daily sins, and remind us to head to the cross, where our treasure and citizenship of the Kingdom comes from.
That’s how we can maintain a sensitive conscience when we live in an unclean world.
Resources
Questions? Please contact us. Inspired? Come and worship with us on Sundays.
This Leslie Phillips song, referred to above, is based on Romas 2:4, speaking of God’s kindness leading us to repentance.
